welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thousands of protesters marched through athens as a 48 hour general strike began in greece. unions launched the action in protest against new austerity measures proposed by the government. nhk world is in athens. >> the government bleeds us dry.

they should immediately step down. >> what are we supposed to do if we can't receive a psi? >> reporter: in athens, the square in front of the parliament is packed with demonstrators on monday, wednesday, i should say. more than 120,000 protesters are marching through the city's center, chanting anti-austerity ogs. e otestasaunched by mar iove measures including pension cuts and layingff of about 30,000iv sean.me demonstrators threw firebombs at the police. this is the first demonstration of tcan greece sce the start of the sereign debt crisis two years ago. transport, hospital and other public workers are among the protesters. traffic in the capital is paralyzed and many strikers were converging on the parliament building. the government is trying to persuade the public to accept the new measures, which it says are essential to securing immediate funds for the country.

china sharply reduced holdings of u.s. government bonds ter the credit rating agency downgraded u.s. debt in early august. the latest data released by the u.s. treasury department on tuesday shows that china's holdings of the u.s. treasuries fell to .1 trillion,ow from $1.173 trillion a month earlier. this marks the first time over the past year china sold more than $10 billion worth of u.s. treasuries in a single month. the country has been investing in foreign reserves over $3 trillion, mainly in the u.s. treasuries and other dollar denominated assets. we spoke with christian kaleo on what the impact on the markets might be. >> they're in the process of diversifying away from u.s.

treasuries. this is mainly a result of their policy to try to re-align their exchange rate at a more acceptable level in the international market. so it's normal for chinese authorities to be trying to sell holdings of u.s. treasuries and buy other things. the u.s. is still a major currency in the international markets, not only because of the ratings themselves, but also because of the use of the u.s. dollar both in investment and commercial transactions. at the same time one of the reasons why the yields are as low as they are right now is because there is not as much dollar debt outstanding as there used to be. it's not clear where investors would put their money. >> that was christian carrillo at social securities in tokyo. china says direct investments from the eu in the

nine months through september of this year have fallen from the same period in 2010. china's ministry of commerce spokesperson told reporters on wednesday that investments from january through september amounted to about $4.18 billion, that's down 1.8% from a year ago. direct investments from the eu to china posted a double digit increase last year and kept on rising until august this year. but the total from january through september has seen a drop compared with the same period last year. this is apparently because more eu companies are refraining from business expansion in china as euro zone debt worries mount. next we go to our bureau in bangkok. we begin with an update on the floods in thailand. the governor of bangkok called on citizens to remain on alert and be prepared to evacuate. the warning comes as larger than

expected amounts of water descend from the north towards the capital. the physical and economic damage to the country is worsening by the day. work to reinforce flood barriers has continued around the clock. more than 1 million sandbags have been deployed. but it seems that won't be enough to save the entire city. the bangkok metropolitan administration issued a warning on wednesday to seven districts in the north and east of the city. it asked residents to be prepared for severe flooding within the next 24 hours. six industrial estates in thailand have already been submerged. attention has now shifted to another threatened zone, the back of the industrial park. the latest government estimate predicts that more than 600,000 jobs are at risk. some 14,000 factories across the country have been inundated.

thailand's finance minister says the economy may shrink 1.1% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. at least 317 people have been killed since july, making these the worst floods to hit thailand in half a century. security in pakistan has been worsening ever since u.s. forces killed osama bin laden in may. insurgents have stepped up their attacks in that country too. one especially alarming trend is the increasing number of young suicide bombers brainwashed by islamic extremists. nhk world filed this report. >> reporter: nhk obtained this footage of a training camp belonging to the pakistani taliban.

the camp is situated in a mountainous region near the border of afghanistan. the training in the footage are all young boys. >> reporter: more and more trainees like these have blown themselves up in pakistan and afghanistan. terrorist groups use boys, because they draw less suspicion from the military and the police. 19-year-old, this boy lives in this neighborhood. he was just 17 when members of the pakistani taliban stormed into his house and took him away.

>> translator: they took me to the mountain over there. they handed me a bomb, and told me to join the jihad. >> reporter: he says his abductors slashed his arm and put a knife to his throat when he refused them. he eventually managed to escape, but says many other boys are still being held at the camp. >> translator: i still have nightmares ar the horror i experienced. the memory haunts me that the abductors may return. >> reporter: in a bid to improve the situation, the pakistani government built a facility two years ago to rehabilitate boys taken from islamic extremists. about 200 of them live here. they are being retrained to eradicate extremist ideals planted by their abductors.

>> translator: the taliban told me i can go to heaven if i blow myself up. >> translator: all my friends died as suicide bombers. >> reporter: the retraining lasts six to nine months. 500 boys have already rejoined society. >> a lot of therapy. a lot of intervention in sessions, in group sessions. deradicalization, teaching them the proper concepts of islam. >> reporter: but despite search efforts by these people, fundamentalist groups say they will continue to use boys for suicide bombing. >> translator: we alone have more than 2,000 boys being trained as suicide bombers.

after the death of sheikh osama bin laden, the boys are even more motivated to battle the infidel. >> reporter: pakistan has collaborated with the united states in its war against terrorism, but the islamic nation now also faces a worsening terror threat from within. for nhk world, islamabad. and that wraps up our bulletin. >> thanks. japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda is trying to improve relations with a neighbor. he traveled to seoul to meet president lee myung-bak and brought something south koreans have wanted returned for many years. noda and lee met at the president's office. noda handed over five volumes of ancient korean archives from the joseon dynasty.

the documents had been stored in japan since its colonial rule over the korean peninsula. lee said the handover is symbolic of a path the two countries will follow in the future. noda said japan and korea have had controversies in the past but he stressed they can be overcome if the leaders are determined to improve relations. they agreed to expand a currency swap to help stabilize financial markets shaken by the debt crisis in europe. >> translator: amid global uncertainty, it's important to strengthen currency cooperation to stabilize financial markets. we've agreed to expand our currency swap scheme to $70 billion. >> the financial measure could help prop up the south korean yuan. the currency has been losing strength in the foreign exchange market because of the european debt crisis. >> translator: we've take an big, important step forward in

powerfully advancing our future oriented relationship. >> the leaders agreed to work on north korea's nuclear program, its abductions of japanese and south korean citizens and security issues. the japanese prime minister and the south korean president decided to resume regular meetings but failed to smooth out differences over a bilateral economic agreement. nhk's seoul bureau chief has more. >> reporter: noda and lee at a meeting in seoul on wednesday agreed to strengthen working level discussion on economic partnership agreement. the epa talks have been stalled for seven years. japan wants the negotiation to be started as soon as possible, but lee told reporters at the meeting that the talks must benefit both countries and that

businesses differ in opinion. he declined to pledge any further steps due to worries among south korean industries that if an agreement is signed, the countries trade deficit with japan would grow. lee said he plans to visit japan this year, but that he's reluctant to become a state guest, as the country hopes. this is in consideration of growing public anger toward japan over a handling of a dispute concerning aroup of islands in the sea of japan. nhk world, seoul. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you

insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." a city in fukushima prefecture has gone monitoring radiation level of farm land and forests. they will test for contamination xi dee spite the government lifting an evacuation advisory for the area. the city lies outside 20 kilometer no entry zone around the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant but the officials are concerned about radiation levels. on wednesday, the japan atomic energy agency began testing forests in a 4.5 hectare rice field using an unmanned helicopter equipped with a counter hovering 20 meters above the ground. data is transmitted in real time and converted into radiation levels one meter above ground. the agency uses aircraft to

measure radiation levels of large areas in locations that are difficult to access. >> translator: we'll be able to spot an area with high radiation levels. i hope the aircraft makes a decontamination work much easier. >> it was tsunami damage along the tohoku coast that captured all the headlines, but the magnitude 9 earthquake on march 11th also damaged vast numbers of buildings further inland. an engineering company in fukushima developed technology to help houses left tilted to make them safe to live in. >> reporter: this family home in fukushima prefecture was bent out of shape by the violent tremers of march 11th. the house was tilting up to 24 centimeters and was deemed too dangerous to live in. the family had no choice but to rent another house and move out.

>> we thought if it would incline a little bit more, it should be destroyed. well, of course, our feeling was very sad because it is a new house, we have lived here only about for ha a year. >> reporter: an associate professor in civil engineering points out many houses tilted. because the earthquake loosened the ground beneath them. >> translator: most of the damage can be seen in housing sites developed between the mid1950s and mid1970s, where gullies and swampy areas were filled in with land fill. >> reporter: according to dr. sento, large scale ground rupture occurred in two dozen

places in fukushima prefecture. in the past, little could be done to restore tilting houses to their previous upright positions. but hope has appeared in the form ofhe pubb meod developed by a group in fukushima. the method calls for special rotor table piles that are buried around and beneath the building. the tiles are fixed to solid ground three to 15 meters deep that can withstand strong quakes. then a bracket is inserted under the base of the house, so t the bracket and the house are jacked up together. the process does not require heavy equipment and is well suited for japan's narrow streets. the home that was too dangerous

to live in after the quake has been restored to its previous state thanks to this technology. this man is the president of the group. >> translator: if a house is constructed without the piles reaching solid ground, it risks sinking again and moving when another quake strikes. the pubb method allows pilons to reach solid ground. >> reporter: the pubb method is different from regular piles in that the pile is firmly secured into solid ground. the secret is right here, at the base of the pile. the blades attached to the disc shape their way through the rigid hard pound layer to drive the pile down deep. with the disc firmly fixed in the ground, it ensures that a

house will never sink again, even if it is built on land fill. the company used to get construction orders for about ten houses a year. but since t quake, the count has risen to more than 200 houses. it is hoped that the technology will allow people in the quake-hit areas to return to their homes and start the process of rebuilding their lives as soon as possible. time to check on some of the stories we have gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by ctn, cambodia. cambodia imposed a temporary ban on sending maze and other domestic workers to malaysia. the decision follows repeated reports of abuse and exploitation by malaysian employers and recruitment agencies. on tuesday, cambodia's minister of labor asked recruitment firms to ensure the safety of female

workers they dispatch to malaysia. rights groups have been pressuring the government for month to combat abuse of workers in malaysia. at least 30,000 cambodian women work in malaysia. the fifth trilateral summit of india, brazil and south africa or ibsa concluded in the south african capital of pretoria on tuesday. the leaders called for the implementation of a credible mackerel economic plan and financial policies to prevent negative effects from the world economic situation. the indian prime minister said despite the global economic slowdown, the three economies have registered a study growth rate with ibsa trade touching $20 billion. the vietnamese government showcased the country's folk music and dance in the capital of hanoi over the weekend. with a 500 year history, singing is vying for this year's unesco

world herige titl it is a mixture of lullabies, songs sung in duet and poems praising life. the government has been seeking support from the international community before unesco makes its selection and masters in culture attaches from 40 nations participated in the event. and here are the latest market figures. now here is a brief look at what else is happening around the world. and we start with a story from the united states.

a u.s. poll shows nearly 70% of new york city voters agree with the views of the wall street protesters. the polling institute surveyed 1,068 registered voters. 67% said they generally agree with the protesters. 72% think demonstrators should be allowed to camp out in public spaces as long as they wish, while 24% said their stay should be limited. the number of asylum seekers around the world rose by 17% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. the u.n. high commission for refugees report add surge in people seeking asylum from tunisia and libya. it is calling on wealthier nations to accept more asylum seekers and expects to see

420,000 claims in industrialized countries for the whole of 2011. britain has frozen the assets of five men, including two suspected in the alleged iranian plot to kill the saudi ambassador to the united states. the british foreign office says talks on additional sanctions are under way between britain and the u.s. iran's leader ayatollah has called the allegation a faicat and absurd ploy. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. hi, there. time for another update on the world's weather conditions. as we head into eastern ia, you'll see a quiet day on the cards as we head on into thursday. high pressure is across much of china as well as mongolia, korean peninsula and japan. all looking fairly dry. we do see a few showers moving up along the pacific edge of japan, probably a little bit overcast as well, but nothing too much to worry about. a few showers here in the

southwest of china. and then heavier rain is going to be spread out across the bay of bengal. so bangladesh as well as myanmar seeing some very significant rafall toueadoom flooding issues we're also seeing continued rn acssieam and into cambodia, southern portions o thailand as well ilits t heavy as it has been certainly in recent weeks, it gngbe a littleit hvi i some places. northern portions of thailand certainly looking dryer. so that is very good news. as we head into our temperature chart, i can tell you that we're going to be in the low 20s in seoul, tokyo and beijing as well. shanghai and chongqing, cooler towards the north in ulan batur at 9 degrees and still in the 30s in bangkok. into north america we go. out west we're looking fine here. we have a couple of showers moving along a cold front. you can just see pushing in across bc. that's not going to be too much to worry about either. but as you can see, this very well developed low sitting over

the east and that is going to be bringing some significantly heavy rain, maybe we'll see some flooding problems with this as well. anything from about 50 to 100 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours could be coupled certainly with hail as well. you can see just how windy this is going to be. unfortunately it is not moving very quickly. so it will be lingering around the great lakes region and then pushing up to new england and eastern canada fairly slowly. so we'll be watching for that. and then in behind it things are starting to dry out in the southeast. cold air is filtering in and that will bring the temperature down to some places like atlanta by about 10 degrees. just 13 forecast for your high on thursday. 16 in oklahoma city. we have 22 in houston, which is certainly a lot cooler than it has be f quite some time. 23 in l.a. and we're just in the midteens in vancouver as well as seattle. coming now into europe. well, we have got this big low pressure system across the north and it is really going to be bringing some very gusty winds right across scandinavia, as well as the baltic states.

you can see that extends through poland and germany too. meanwhile, things are startg to calm down a little bit for you in the british isles. not going to last for very ng we have another round of wet and windy weather coming . it is going to be chilltoo and you can actually expect widespadrost to greet you thursday morning across much o the british isles, especially up towards the north. then we have this are of rain and storms just dashing across the alpine region coming in towards the northern balkans. that's going to be increasing in strength as it goes. temperaturewise, let's take a look at what is happening on thursday. 8 degrees in stockholm, 9 in moscow, 10 in warsaw, 10 in berlin. we're struggling to stay in the double digits for the highs across much of the continent. 23 in athens, 21 in rome. cooling down in madrid, down to 19 degrees. think you're in the 30s just a couple of weeks ago. i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

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that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.